Photolithography process is typically employed to manufacture electronic and opto-electronic components on a substrate of semiconductor devices. These devices may be active devices such as transistors in an integrated circuit or may be passive devices such as interconnecting conductors on a printed circuit board.
One method of forming such devices on the substrate is through double patterning on the substrate. A pattern from a first exposure may be etched onto a photoresist layer on the substrate. The substrate is subsequently recoated with the photoresist layer to image a second pattern and is re-etched to obtain the desired pattern. However, because the substrate must undergo additional etch, chemical cleans, and resist processing, there may be more defects introduced by the additional processing. Moreover, as the substrate has to make separate passes through the photoresist coat, exposure and etch for forming the pattern, this technique is substantially more expensive compared to a single exposure technique.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments of the claimed subject matter, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matter be viewed broadly, and be defined only as set forth in the accompanying claims.